Toilet-seat-disinfecting means.



R. D. MAYO.

TOILET SEAT DISINEEGTING MEANS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 21, 1914.

Patented Mar. 16, 1915.

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Il I. n lli nonnnm DAVID Marzo, or CLEVELAND, oHIo.

TOILET-SEAT-DISINFECTIN G MEANS. y

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 16, 19115,

`Application filed May 21, 1914. Serial No. 889,988.

T0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ROBERT DAVID MAYO, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented a certain new and useful Toilet-Seat-Disinfecting Means; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such' as will enable Vothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had tothe accompanying drawings, and to the characters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates particularly to means for disinfecting toilet-seats, but is not restricted t0 such use Aas it may be used in any connection for which it is adapted or appropriate.

An object of my invention is the provision .of improved means for Ldisinfecting toiletseats after use, which means is simple and eicent ,in its construction and automatically operable.

A further object of the invention is the provision of simple and ,efficient means which is automatically operable by a movement of the toilet seat to permit the discharge of a predetermined quantity of a disinfecting or antiseptic material in liquid `or other suitable form in a `suitable position 'to disinfect the toilet seat when in raised position.

Further objects Aand advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description thereof.

The invention is fully described in the following speciiication, and while, in its broader aspect, it is capable of embodiment in numerous forms, a preferred embodiment thereof is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which,- f

Figure 1 is a side elevation of an apparatus embodying my invention with the seat raised and with parts Iin section. Fig. 2 is a front elevation thereof with the toilet bowl in section, and Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional detail of a portion of the discharge means for the disinfecting material.

Referring to the drawings, 1 designates a closet bowl, 2 the customary fiushing tank, which is in connection with the bowl, and 3 the toilet-seat whichseat has its hinge member Ali'pi'votallycarried by a bracket 5 that is mounted in any suitable manner on the .upper rear portion of the bowl. A disinfecting case 6, of rectangular or other suitable form, is secured to the front side of the tank 2 4or it maybe secured to a wall o r other suitable support at the rear of the bowl if the flushing-tank 2 is not in convenient position to support the same. The case 6 is provided in its front side with an opening 7 corresponding in shape to the face or top side of the toilet seat and disposed in proper po,- sition for such side of the toilet seat ,to t therein when in raised position, as shown'in the drawings. The panel 8, which forms the portion of the case front within the opening for the seat 2 when raised is rigidly connected to the back of the case 6 by bolts 9 or in any other suitable manner. The front side of the panel 8, if desired, may lbe faced with upholstering 10 to form a soft back rest.

The inner and outer walls of the case opening 7 are preferably inwardly ianged, as indicated at 11, and a plate 12 conforming in shape to the .shape of the lopening 7 is movably carried within the case by a cross-bar 13 and adapted to seat against the inner edges of the respective lflanges 11 to close the communication between the interior of the case and the atmosphere when the toilet seat is not positioned in the opening. A rod or shaft 14 is centrally disposed within the case 6 and extends from the panel 8 to the rear side of the case, being mounted at its ends-in any suitable manner to such parts.' ,The cross-bar 13 which carries the closure plate 12 is'mounted for axial shifting movements on the shaft or rod llland is yieldingly urged by a coiled compression spring 15 to move toward the rear of the case and to A hold the plate 12 in open position with respect to the opening 7, said spring being interposed between the panel 8 and cross-bar, as shown. A slide collar 16 is mounted for axial shifting movements on the shaft 14: at the rear of the cross-bar 13 and has connection through the medium of a pair of links 17 with a vertically movable control rod 18. Upon an upward movement of the control rod 18 the links 17 are moved fromI inclined to substantially horizontal position and effeet a forward movement of the collar 1G and a consequent forward movement of the cross-bar 13 and plate 12 to close the opening 7 due to the coaction of said collar with the cross-bar. It is preferable to provide a vcoiled compression spring 19 between the collar 1G and cross-bar 13 to serve to yieldingly space said members and to urge the collar to the rear. l l

In order that the raising lmovements. of the rod 18 may be automatically controlled upon a lowering of the toilet seat 3, the

"hinge plate 4 is provided with a finger 20,

which, upon a lowering of the seat'coacts `with a block or linger 21 on the lower end 'of the rod 1,8 below the oase 6 to impart an upward movement to such rod. It is thus evident that the plate 12 normally stands lin open position with relation to the seat receiving opening 7 due to the action of the spring 15 thereagainst, and that a lowering of the seat 3 communicates a closing movement to said plate.

In order that the seat 3 may be automatically raised from its reclining position when I a downward pressure is removed therefrom,

, the

I provide springs 22 in connection with. the hinge members of the seat, whichv springs are adapted to resist a lowering of the seat and to urge a movement of the seat from reclining toupright position.

Mounted above the case 6, or'in other convenient position, isl a container 23 for a dis `infecting or antiseptic material preferably tainer 23 is a tube 27, which is provided intermediate its ends with an enlargement forming'a chamber 28,-in the present instance, of annular form. A valve tube 29 is'mounted for longitudinal reciprocatory movements in the tube 27 and has its upper end closed and marginally flanged, as shown at 30, to closely seat against the upper end of the tube 27 to close the communication between such'tube and the interior of the' container 23. A coiled compression spring y y 31 encircles the lower end of the tube 29-betweena collar 32 thereon and the lower end of-the tube 27 and urges a downward or seating movement of the valve tube. The tube 29 is provided with an interior partition 33, which divides the tube into upper and lower compartments, the upper compartment 34 of which may be termed the measurin compartment vfor, each charge of disin ecting material whichA is to beadmitted into the case 6 from the container 23, as hereinafter described. The partition 33 is so disposed that it willstand belowy the upper end of the chamber 28 when the valveptube is in its lowered or seated position, as shown in Fig. 3, and will move above the upper end of said chamber when the vvalve-tube is raised. Upon a raising of the valve-tube .passage of fumes into the opening 7 and from its normal seated position, a plurality of openings 35 in the upper end portionA thereofare uncovered to theV interior of the container23 to permit liquid from such ccntainer to enter and fill the measuring compartment 34 of the valve. Upon a lowering of the valveto its normal seated position, a plurality of openings 36 are uncovered to the interior of the chamber 28 to permit the disinfecting liquid in the valve compartment 34 tofio'w into said chamber. The liquid which enters the chamber 28 renters `the tube 29 below the partition 33 through openings 37 therein and thence flows through said valve-tube and a connecting drainage so l ltube 38 into a pan 39 in the bottom of the 'case 6. -The pan 39 has its topopentothe interior of the case 6, so that the fumes rising from the disinfecting material in the paii willlill` the case 6 and have contact with the face of the toilet seat 3 whenl disposed within the opening 7, as the closure plate 12-is then in open rposition to permit the free around the face portion of the seat. f

The means employed, inthe present instance, for raising the valve-tube 29 to per.

`mit the entry of a charge of disinfecting material into the compartment 34 thereof, consists in extendingl the upper end of the control-rod 18 through a side extension of` the valve-tube collar' 32 and providing a Xed collar 40 on the control rod in position to coact with the collar 32 to raise it and the valve-tube 29 against the tension of the spring 31 when the control-rod is raised. The upper end of the control-rod 18 is shown as working through a ide 41, which is fixed to the lower end portion of the tube 27. It is thus evident that the plate 12 will be moved to 'close the .openings :7, and the valve-tube 29 will be raised to place its ycharge receiving compartment 34 into communication with the interior ofthe container 23 when the toilet-seat 3 is lowered, and while it remains in lowered position, due to the finger 20 on the hingemember 4 of the seat coacting with the finger 21'on the lower end of thev control-rod 18; and that the plate 12 will be moved to open position and 115 the valve-tube 29 lowered to seatin position y when the seat is raised, thus permitting the charge of disinfecting material in the compartment 34 of the valve to flow into the pan 39 to freshen the disinfecting material there- 120 in. A drainage tube42 extends from the -pan 39 a desired distance above its bottom and into the bowl 1 to permit the disinfect-y ing liquid when it has reached a predetermined height in the pan 39 to flow therefrom 125 into the closet bowl. Y A stem 43 projects upward-from the upper end of the valve tube 29 into the con-` tainer 23 and through. a vent opening 44 in the upper end thereof, said stem being provided without the container with a valve member 45, which closes the vent opening 4A when the-valve-i-s in lowered position.

The case 6 is shown, in the present instance, as being carried by a plate 4:6,which is mounted on the rear portion, of the closet bowl l and has a portion 46 extending over the rim portion of said bowl and removably secured thereto by a plurality of spring clips 47, which yieldingly engage around the 1nner marginal edge portion of the bowl, as shown in Fig. 2. It is not necessary, however, to mount the case 6 on a plate of this character as it may be secured alone to an adjacent wall, tank, or other suitable support at the rear of the bowl.

48 designates a dash-pot which is connected to the seat 3 to prevent tool rapid movements of the seat. v

It is apparent that with my improved toilet seatdisinfecting means, the seat is automatically raised and disinfected after each use thereof, thus rendering it thoroughly sanitary and antiseptic for each subsequent user.

I wish it understood that my invention is not limited to any specific construction or arrangement of the arts as numerous changes and modiiications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination with a toilet seat, of a ldisinfecting case having an opening for receivin thel usable face of said seat when moved trom lowered position, means operable to open and close said case opening, and means operable to control the movements of said first means and to fpermit the discharge A of a quantity of disin cting material into said case.

2. The combination with a movable toilet seat, of a case having an opening for receiving the usable face of the seat lwhen moved from usable position, means operable to open and close sald opening, and means operable by movements of the seat to control the movements of said rst means to permi a quantity of disinfecting material to enter the case. i p

3. The combination with a movable toilet seat, of a case having an opening for receiving the usable face of the seat when moved from usable position, means operable to open and close said opening to the interior of the case, and means automatically operable by movements of the seat to control the movements of said first means and to permit the discharge of a quantity .of disinfecting material into said case, the fumes of which are intended to disinfect the seat face.

4. The combination with a toilet seat which is automatically movable from lowered to raised, position when pressure is removed therefrom, of a disinfecting case having an opening for receiving the seat when raised, and mechanism automatically operable by movements of the seat to open and close said opening to the interior of the receptacle and to discharge a quantity of disinfecting material into the case.

5. The combination with a movable toilet seat, of a container for a disinfecting material, a tube extending downward from said.

container and having an enlargement forniing a chamber, a valve tube mounted for longitudinal movements in said tube and having an upper measuring compartment, said valve-tube having inlet and outlet openings for said measuring compartment and having openings below said measuring communication with the interior of the case to ermit the discharge of a quantity of disinecting material therein.

6. The combination with a movable seat, of a disinfecting case having an opening for receiving the usable face of the seat when moved from usable position, a closure member for said opening, means urging an opening movement of said member, and means operable by a lowering of the seat to move said member into position to close said openrlhe combination with a movable toilet seat, of a disinfecting case having an opening for receiving the usable' face of the seat when moved from usable position, a closure member mounted for forward and backward movements within the case, means urging an opening movement of said member, and means operable by a lowering of the seat to eiiect a yielding seating of said member to close said opening.

8. The combination with a movable toilet seat, of a disinfecting case having an open.

and to permit a quantity of disinfecting material to enter said case.

9. The combination with a movable toilet seat, of a disinfecting case havingl an opensaid receptacle, ,a vertically recprooatory 4 rod having connection with said valve and with' said closure member and operable by the seat during. predetermined movements thereof to effect a movement of said closure member to close said opening and a movement of said valve to permit a quantity of disinfecting material to enter said case 15 from the receptacle.

yIn testimony whereof, I have 'hereunto vsigned my name to this specification inthe presence of two subscribing witnesses.

Witnesses:

JOHN C.'BARKLEY, JOHN P, DEMPsEri.

,ROBERT DAVID Meuro.v 

